EVERYBODY LOVES RAY
The Ray5 is available in three colours: Black (BK), Walnut Stain (WS), andHBS, which looks to be a sort of ‘honey burst’ sunburst. Whichever colour you select, the heart of the instrument is a solid hardwood body. Sterling doesn’t specify what kind of hardwood it is, and it’s pretty heavy despite the website’s spiel about light, airy bodies.
The maple neck features a rosewood fretboard on the WS and HBS models, and maple on the BK. And all the key Music Man features are present and accounted for: the split 4/1 tuning key layout; the cool bevelling, the proprietary bridge design that adds mass and increases the amount of metal making contact with the body for better string energy transfer; the sturdy six-bolt neck joint. Even the neck profile feels unmistakably Music Man-derived. The lone humbucking pickup looks just like the ‘real deal’ Music Man model. It has two rows of large magnetic pole pieces for a wider magnetic field, and its three-screw adjustment gives you greater control over its angle and height so you can better match the string angle and ensure consistent output from string to string. The pickup is joined to a Volume control and a two-band active EQ (Treble and Bass, each capable of boosting or cutting its selected frequency). Battery access is through an easily accessible compartment in the back.
PLAYTIME
Like the Ray34, the Ray35’s playability is exceptional, not only for a bass in this price range but for a bass in general. A big part of this is the fretwork. It’s totally flawless in terms of the fret ends, which plays a big role in enhancing playability. The frets aren’t quite as nicely finished as on the Ray4 we reviewed (these ones poke over the edge at the B string side just a little bit, which could be the result of the wood settling after manufacture). This bass has a really nice natural tone, which translates well to the plugged-in sound. The natural tone is a little lower in treble detail than the Ray4, and this gives it a little more punch and oomph. The EQ gives the humbucker a wider range of sounds than would otherwise be available, including great slap/pop sounds, and you can get some nice deep ‘dubby’ tones by turning the bass up and the treble down. It also helps that you can use the preamp to restore and enhance that naturally lower treble content.
GIMMIE FIVE
This is a killer bass for beginning five-stringers, guitarists who want a bass for recording and messing around with, or even as a backup for more seasoned players. Budget-priced instruments have come a long way in the last decade or so, and although close inspection reveals hints here and there that this isn’t a US-made Music Man, the faithfulness to the key points of the design combines with a build quality that far exceeds price.
